Siren's Call (A Rainshadow Novel) (19 page)

The rest of the team emerged from the cave. They all looked at Ella.

Duke whistled softly. “That was damned impressive. I’ve seen the critters run from flamers before, but only after they got close enough to get singed—and that’s just too close for comfort.”

“All right, let’s get back to the surface,” Rafe said. “The techs will want to start working on this.”

“Looks like my work here is done,” Ella said.

Rafe glanced at her. He did not look pleased by that announcement.

The lab was modified for fieldwork but it contained portable versions of many of the critical pieces of equipment that were standard issue in all Coppersmith research facilities.

Rafe stood quietly to the side, letting Ella and the heads of the lab team, Susan Bowen and John Hayashi, talk frequencies. The operations manager, Sam Forrester, and the rest of the techs were grouped around the long workbench, eager to get moving on a prototype device that would counter the singing monsters.

The team had exited Wonderland less than an hour ago. The meeting in the lab had been convened immediately. Rafe had wanted to give Ella some downtime before she was debriefed by the eager techs, but after some coffee and a couple of doughnuts she had announced that she was fit to give her report.

Looks like my work here is done
.

Rafe couldn’t get the words out of his head. He had been so focused on finding Ella and getting her to Rainshadow and then on protecting her and then on taking her to bed that he had never stopped to consider what would happen once she solved the monster problem.

She would leave. That’s what would happen. There was nothing to keep her on Rainshadow. Nothing to keep her with him.

Susan Bowen looked satisfied. “All right, I think we’ve got our dino repellent. Now to tune some quartz and see if it works.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem,” Hayashi said.

Rafe folded his arms and propped one shoulder against the wall. “Think we could use tuned quartz to track the critters?”

Susan looked thoughtful. “Hmm.”

Hayashi took off his glasses and polished them while he considered the question. “We’ve been thinking in terms of a gadget to repel the dinosaurs, but it might be possible to reverse the process.”

Susan raised one brow. “Lure them, do you mean?”

“Technology isn’t my area of expertise,” Ella said. “But theoretically, yes, you should be able to use the quartz to hunt the monsters the same way they hunt you. The question is, what will you do with them after you get them to come to you? You said you don’t have any serious weapons that will work in a heavy-psi environment.”

“That,” Sam Forrester said, “is an excellent question.”

“We know that the dinosaurs can’t handle daylight on
the surface,” Rafe said. “From what we can tell, it’s lethal to them. We might be able to use the quartz to track the beasts to the gate that they’re using to move between Wonderland and the Preserve. If we find it, we should be able to barricade it so that they can’t get back underground during the daylight hours.”

Excitement flickered in Susan’s eyes. “I see where you’re going with this. If the critters get caught on the surface during the day, sunlight and the diminished psi forces inside the Preserve might finish them off.”

Sam Forrester smiled a very satisfied smile. “We’ve got a plan. Plans are good.”

Rafe looked at Ella. Her words echoed in his head. . . .
My work here is done
.

Damn.

•   •   •

When the meeting ended he walked back to the main lodge building with Ella. She had been animated during the conference with the techs, but as soon as they left the lab she went silent.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I was just thinking that Dr. Hayashi and Dr. Bowen and their team will probably have a prototype of a harmonic disrupter device ready by tomorrow. We can field test it in the afternoon.”

A chill flickered through his senses. “So?”

“So, that’s it for me. If the test goes well, I’ll be able to return to Crystal City the day after tomorrow.”

The chill turned glacial.

“There’s still the little problem of finding out who tried to grab you that night in Crystal,” he reminded her.

“I can take care of myself,” she said.

“You can take care of yourself when the odds are one-on-one. But the crowd with the tats looks like a small, private army.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. I’m going to hire Jones and Jones to investigate. They also provide bodyguard services. They’re expensive, but they’re good.”

“Coppersmith takes care of its own.”

“I get that. But as I keep reminding you, I am not a member of the Coppersmith organization.”

“Damn it, Ella. My life is complicated at the moment. I can’t make long-term commitments. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you go back to Crystal all by yourself.”

“I appreciate that, but J and J can handle this—assuming there is anything to be handled. After all, I’ve finished the project here on Rainshadow. If the goal was to keep me from consulting for Coppersmith, they’re too late.”

They were nearing the entrance to the lobby. It occurred to Rafe that the last thing he wanted to do was conduct this argument in front of a lot of witnesses.

“I just need a little time,” he said.

“Take all the time you need. It’s not like I’m going to get married while you’re off figuring out whether you’re going to go crazy. Odds are good that I’ll be available if you show up in Crystal City.”

That was not the answer he wanted, but before he could come up with a fresh angle his phone rang. He yanked it off his belt and glowered at the screen.

“It’s Slade.” He took the call. “Got something on the dead guy?”

“Yeah,” Slade said. “But this may interest you even more. I may have a lead on those guys with the tattoos who tried to grab Ella in Crystal City.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’d rather not do this on the phone. Besides, I have orders from Charlotte to invite you and your consultant to dinner tonight. Can you make it?”

“Hang on.” Rafe looked at Ella. “This is Attridge. He and his wife are inviting us for dinner tonight.”

“Us?”

“Slade says he’s got some info on both the murder and the bastards who tried to grab you. Figured you might be interested.”

“You’re right,” she said. “I’m interested.”

“First, let’s go over what I’ve got on the guy you fished out of the lake,” Slade said. He plunked his bottle of Green Quartz beer down on the coffee table and lowered himself into a chair. He picked up a folder and handed it to Rafe. “Kenneth Maitland, twenty-two years old. No close family. A few brushes with the law—drug dealing when he was in his teens but nothing after that. Looks like he got caught up in the DND movement about a year ago. Typical cult-recruit profile.”

“A young man grows up without a family so he tries to find one,” Ella said. She shook her head. “So sad.”

Rafe flipped through the folder. “Presumably, he slipped onto the jobsite to make trouble, but why would anyone shoot him in cold blood?”

Ella was mildly surprised to discover that she was enjoying the evening. Slade’s wife, Charlotte, was warm and
welcoming. She had the unmistakable glow of impending motherhood.

She was a striking woman. Her dark hair was cut in a sleek bob and her eyes were accented with stylish, black-framed glasses. There was a strong vibe of talent in the atmosphere around her. Rafe had mentioned that she owned an antiques shop in Shadow Bay.

Ella was wistfully aware of the energy between Slade and Charlotte. You didn’t have to be psychic to know when two people were deeply in love and bonded for life, she thought.

She wasn’t the only one who was savoring the pleasure of an evening with friends. Lorelei appeared to be having a fine time with Slade’s dust bunny companion, Rex. The pair had evidently bonded over a mutual admiration for sparkly accessories. Rex carried a small, rather expensive-looking antique clutch purse that seemed to be his prize possession. He appeared suitably impressed with Lorelei’s wedding veil. The two had disappeared out onto the porch. Ella wondered if she should be concerned about the lack of a chaperone.

“This has all the hallmarks of a drug deal gone bad,” Slade said. “That wouldn’t be the biggest surprise in the world, given Maitland’s history. But there are other possibilities.”

Ella looked at him. “Such as?”

Slade shrugged. “Black-market artifacts. There have been some discoveries in the Preserve recently.”

“But DND is against excavating the ruins,” Charlotte pointed out. “Why would they be involved in trafficking black-market artifacts?”

“Two reasons,” Rafe said. “Money and power.”

“Right,” Slade said. “Cults and conspiracy movements like DND are all about both. I’m guessing that the people at the top of the DND aren’t exactly pure of heart.”

“I’d say that’s an accurate assumption,” Rafe agreed. “Our security people have spent a lot of time researching DND. The recruits might be true believers, but the man at the top, Houston Radburn, has a long history of fraud and embezzlement schemes.” He looked at Slade. “Coppersmith will continue to work with you on the DND case, but I’ll be honest, the guys with the tattoos make me a lot more nervous.”

“Maybe with good reason, because I don’t think there’s a connection to DND.” Slade opened another file. “I didn’t get anything useful from my FBPI contacts so I followed a hunch and checked with Arcane’s investigation agency, Jones and Jones. When it comes to some things their files are better than the Bureau’s.”

“Funny you should say that.” Rafe rested his forearms on his knees. “Ella suggested that we contact Jones and Jones about this problem.”

Ella swirled the wine in her glass. “What I said was, I intend to contact the agency.”

Rafe gave her a grim look but he didn’t say anything. She was starting to get annoyed. She’d solved his dino problem for him in record time and what thanks did she get? Attitude.

“I had a long talk with Marlowe Jones,” Slade said. “She’s the head of the Frequency City branch of Jones and Jones. She did some research and says that the tattoos
combined with the fact that the kidnappers used Alien tech might point to a group called Vortex.”

Rafe sat back and picked up his beer. “Never heard of it.”

“Neither have I,” Ella said.

“No reason any of us should have heard of it until now,” Slade said. “When Marlowe ran the facts through her online archives she found the reference. Evidently, back in the day on Earth, Jones and Jones had some serious problems with a crowd that called itself Vortex. This was long before the Curtain opened. Twenty-first century, Old World date.”

“What was Vortex?” Ella asked.

“It was your basic criminal empire,” Slade said. “But a very sophisticated operation, according to Marlowe. It was well hidden behind a veil of shell corporations and protected by influential people in government and business. What made it so dangerous was that the guys at the top managed to acquire some very exotic crystal-based weapons that had been developed in a government lab.”

“In other words, human-made psi-ware,” Charlotte said.

“Right,” Slade said. “The weapons were paranormal in nature. I should add that this was in an era when most folks, including the police, didn’t take the paranormal seriously. Which is why, Marlowe says, Jones and Jones took the lead on the investigation.”

Ella looked at him. “What happened back on Earth? Did Jones and Jones succeed in taking down Vortex?”

“Marlowe has the private diaries of the man who was the head of Jones and Jones at the time, one of her
ancestors. I think she said his name was Fallon Jones. He and his assistant at the agency—his wife—were successful in defanging Vortex. But Jones wrote that there was no way to know for certain if they had found and destroyed all of the psi-ware weapons.”

“Well, one thing I’m sure of,” Ella said. “The bell weapon that those Vortex guys tried to use on us in Crystal City was definitely Alien tech, not human-made psi-ware.”

They all looked at her.

“You’re sure?” Charlotte asked.

“She’s right,” Rafe said. “Coppersmith has done a lot of psi-ware research. Anything powered by paranormal energy carries a certain kind of psychic fingerprint. The Alien prints are very different from human prints.”

“I agree,” Charlotte said. “I tune paranormal objects in my shop, remember? Aliens and humans both leave prints and each is unique.”

“So,” Rafe said, “it looks like Vortex may have reinvented itself here on Harmony and it’s gone into the Alien-tech business.”

Slade’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “Attempting to take you down so that they could grab your consultant was a very risky move. Vortex must be desperate if it’s willing to take a chance like that.”

“Yes,” Rafe said. “That did occur to me.”

Something in his voice made Ella look at him quite sharply. There was a little heat in his eyes. It wasn’t the kind of heat that she associated with passion. She opened her senses and saw the telltale spike of psi-fever in his aura.

Rafe was fighting off another hallucination.